DINNER & DRINKS
by Aryea
Summary: Unfinished scene at the end of Cops and Robbers, Spoiler Alert. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER**: _Characters do not belong to me. SPOILER ALERT for Cops and Robbers. After watching last week's show I had to write a little bit of unfinished scene for Castle and Beckett, was bugging me for three days. Hope you enjoy_ it.

**DINNER AND DRINKS**

"I'm gonna turn in, Dad," Alexis announced as she rose from the dinner table and bent to kiss her father goodnight. She gave him a quick hug from behind. She'd had quite a scare earlier today and she was glad to have him and her grandmother back. "Love you."

"Love you too, baby. Sweet dreams."

Alexis smiled at him, but it did not reach her eyes; she was still broken hearted over Ashley. She kissed Martha good night and then stopped and gave a quick hug to Beckett, seated on Castle's left. "Thank you." She whispered.

Beckett nodded. "You bet. Have a good sleep."

Alexis wandered slowly upstairs as Martha rose and started to clear the table.

"Leave it, Mother," Castle suggested as he refilled his and Beckett's wine glass. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, darling." She stretched gracefully. "I think I've had enough excitement today myself and will follow my granddaughter's example." She kissed her son and then waved at Beckett. "Night all."

"Good night, Martha." Beckett offered as Castle rose to clear the table and the detective quickly followed. "Your mother is a strong woman, Castle."

Castle set their plates on the counter and opened the dishwasher. "You have no idea." He remembered how Martha had been after him to leave things alone and not call attention to himself, but then had practically attacked Trapper John when the thief threatened her son.

Beckett set a casserole dish and a platter of half eaten meat next to the plates. "Do you have Tupperware?"

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a roll of saran wrap. "Just put some wrap over it for now."

He kept thinking about hearing Beckett's voice when she had entered the bank. The relief at seeing her come through that vault door and crouch before him. The look in her eyes when she was asking him if he was okay. She had been about to tell him something, something important and he'd been holding his breath, waiting for it.

He shook his head as he set the plates and utensils in the dishwasher. If only his mother had kept her mouth shut he would know what that something was. But the moment had been lost and the frustration in him almost boiled over. He loved Martha but sometimes…she just didn't get it.

"This was an amazing dinner, Castle. Thanks for inviting me."

He retrieved two larger dishes from the table and returned to her. "You're always welcome, you know that."

She smiled at him and quickly tore off a piece of wrap to cover the two dishes he had set on the counter, while he placed the food she had covered into the refrigerator. "I appreciate it."

They finished up in silence, then Castle took his glass and offered hers.

"I should probably go."

"The night is young," he assured as he topped up both their glasses with one hand then headed for the sofa. "Come into my parlor."

"Said the spider to the fly," she finished with a grin and followed him.

"Butterfly, at least." He settled on the sofa and waited until she had joined him. "Alexis broke up with Ashley."

"Oh, that's a shame." Beckett took a sip of her wine and crossed her legs. "It's hard to maintain a long distance relationship."

Castle regarded her quietly and mimicked her position, turning slight towards her. "It's hard to maintain any kind of relationship."

She smirked and offered him a toast. "True dat."

He grinned. "Except ours, we seem to do pretty good."

"Well, it helps to have the 'perfect partner'," she reminded him of his earlier words.

"That does help, absolutely, but what would the perfect partner be without his perfect counterpart?"

"To us then."

"To us." They clinked glasses and each took a sip of wine. "I have a question for you."

"Okay, but I can't promise to be responsible for my answers." She indicated her glass. "I'm under the influence."

In response, Castle leaned forward, picked up the bottle of wine he had brought over with them and added more liquid to her glass. "I promise to respect you in morning."

Beckett's smile faltered for a millisecond as she stared into his beautiful eyes. She was pulled back to his earlier phone call, how his first words to her had sent shivers of panic and pleasure down her spine. _'Tell me you need me.'_

He hadn't meant it the way He had professed to love her, and she had pretended not to remember him saying it. She wasn't ready to make that leap, she couldn't trust that he wouldn't leave her like everyone else did, and yet…he had proven himself over and over. She was trying to show how she cared for him, but it wasn't easy. The walls he claimed she had erected were slow to crumble and almost impossible to scale.

"What did you say to Trapper John?"

Beckett hid behind her wine and took a few more sips. "What do you mean?"

"He was going to kill me, I knew it and he knew it. Then, suddenly he backed off, mentioned you were a hellcat and that was it."

Beckett held her glass in both hands and stared into it for a long time, remembering her fear in that moment, fear that quickly turned to desperate rage. Finally she lifted her head and met Castle's gaze.

"I told him that if he pulled that trigger I would walk into that bank and personally put a bullet in his skull."

Castle regarded her, neither surprised nor impressed. This was Beckett, and he knew she was a tiger when challenged. It did however cause his heart to swell just a little that she would threaten someone with death should they hurt him. "Would you have?"

"Yes."

No hesitation. No remorse. Yep, that was his Kate. "Well, I'm glad you didn't have to. I had enough trouble keeping my mother off him."

"Martha?"

"She practically attacked him when he came at me with that gun." He shivered slightly and took a deep swallow of wine. "I was terrified he would shoot her and I had to yell at the bank manager to hold her back."

Beckett could picture Martha when riled and she smiled at the vision. "She was only protecting what was hers."

"Is that what you were doing, Kate?" he asked her softly. "Protecting what was yours?"

Beckett floundered and again found solace in her wine. "I…you're my partner, Castle." She met his gaze. "I promised Alexis I wouldn't let anything happen to you or Martha."

Castle knew he would get no further admissions from her, not now anyway. He decided to change the topic to a safer venue. "I told everyone you'd get us out alive. No one believed me until you came charging through that door."

Beckett thought back the explosion and knew she would be reliving it in her dreams for many weeks to come. Her initial shock at the explosion was quickly overwhelmed with the devastating thought that she had lost Castle. He'd been counting on her and she had failed him. When she found him alive, she'd been so relieved, so grateful.

"I was scared," she admitted. "When the bomb went off I had a split second where I thought…" She shook her head. "

Castle swirled the wine in his glass and studied it, thoughtfully. "I know that feeling. I felt the same way when your apartment blew up."

She smirked. "Things have certainly gotten interesting since I met you, Castle."

"Really?" he offered coyly and scotched closer, wiggling his eyebrows. "Do tell."

Beckett leaned forward and set her glass on the coffee table. "Oh no, your ego is big enough without my feeding it."

"This isn't about my ego, it's more a re-visitation of our time together. So, let's review…Since I met you, I've been shot at, assaulted, kidnapped, hog tied- a few times, almost froze to death, suspected of murder, molested by your doppelganger…"

Beckett almost choked on her wine. "Excuse me?"

"That chick that was going to play you in the Heat movie…she was scary."

Beckett laughed. "Okay, okay but I've still got you beat."

"Prove it."

"Okay, since I met you," she insisted deliberately. "I've been stalked by your deranged fan, blown up, tied up, removed from my own case, shot…" She watched his face grow grim as he listened and she realized what had started out as a teasing competition was no longer funny for him so she changed tactics. "I've also met people I've admired, become a bestselling novel heroine, had a movie made about me," she paused and reached for his hand. "And found my mother's killer."

Castle stared at her. He didn't want to bring all that up, he had finally gotten her to move on. They still hadn't learned who it was that actually ordered the kill, but he wouldn't press the point. He wanted her to forget about it, at least until he could be sure she would be safe.

"Well...it's been an adventure."

"Yes." She looked at her watch. "And I should probably get home, I have work tomorrow."

"My mother said we can stay up past midnight if we're really good."

She grinned. "Yes, well, Martha doesn't have a stack of paperwork waiting for her." She paused. "Now, if you were willing to come in and help..."

Castle looked at his watch. "Is that the time?" He exaggerated a yawn and stretch. "Wow, I'm beat."

"I thought so." She set her glass on the table and started to rise, but Castle touched her arm.

"Stay."

Beckett stared into his eyes that were no longer amused. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? "Castle, I….Rick…I'm not…" Ready! She wasn't ready for this. "I can't…"

"We have a guest room." He moved closer, his voice almost a whisper against her cheek. "You've been drinking and it isn't safe for you to drive."

"No, I…I'm…fine…" God yes, please God let him kiss her. She wanted it, needed it! "Rick…"

So close, so very close and then, their lips were touching. It was like hot, liquid fire coursing through him, the feel of her, smell of her. His arms started to wind around her, pulling her closer as she moaned against him and opened her mouth to his plunder.

"Richard, I…OH!" Martha stopped half way down the stairs and put her hand to her mouth as the pair of adults on the sofa sprang apart. "Never mind! Go back to what you were doing, forget I was even here!"  
>Beckett stared at Castle and then quickly pulled away. "No I…I should be going." Her head was swimming, she'd had too much wine. She shouldn't have let him talk her into staying. Her emotions were still raw from the incident at the bank.<p>

"Kate, wait..."

Kate was already at the door and grabbing her purse and jacket. "Thanks for the food, Martha. See you tomorrow, Castle."

"You shouldn't be driving," Castle warned as he approached her. "At least let me call you a cab."

'I'll hail one downstairs, it will be faster." She opened the door and turned as he reached her. "I'm okay, really."

He reached out, as if to touch her, then pulled back. "Be safe," he murmured.

"I will. Night. Night, Martha."

And then she was gone. Castle sighed and locked the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry, darling," Martha gushed as she stepped off the stairs. "I didn't mean to ruin things."

'You didn't." Castle retrieved the almost empty bottle of wine and their glasses and set them on the counter. "Nothing happening here." He bent to kiss her cheek then started up the stairs. "Night, Mother."

Martha sighed and tossed her arms up.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER**: Characters of Castle belong to ABC and I have no rights to them, I am only borrowing them for personal amusement. Because you asked for another chapter, here it is. Enjoy and please review. Thanks.

**CHAPTER TWO**

"So you kissed?"

Kate nodded and rose from the chair in Dr. Carter Burke's office, for the third time since her session started. She'd spent a very restless night, trying to get her feelings in order. She couldn't seem to get Castle kissing her out of her head! It wasn't as if he hadn't kissed her before. There was the one time they had needed to pretend to be lovers to make a bouncer less suspicious, although in all honesty, she'd spent far too much time thinking about that one after as well.

She reasoned last night's kiss was just a mixture of the emotional anxiety from the bank and too much wine, and yet she couldn't dismiss it.

"Did you enjoy the kiss?"

"What? What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one."

"Look, I don't want to talk about that, this has nothing to do with that."

"Doesn't it? I haven't seen you this agitated since your first session."

"It's just...I know how Castle feels about me, or at least how he felt before I brushed him off and hurt him by not contacting him for two months."

"You think his feelings have changed?"

"No, yes...I don't know! I can't be sure. He says things sometimes, things that...that make me think they haven't changed, but the next minute he is back to acting like a casual friend again."

"Perhaps he is worried he'll frighten you by being too forward?"

"Frighten me?"

"Well, you've said before you were shot, he accused you about putting up barriers the inability to get close to someone since your mother's murder. He seems to know you pretty well?"

"He does know me, of course he knows me we're partners!"

"Can you tell him how you feel?"

"No. At least...not yet. God, I just don't know. I haven't been hiding since my mom died, I've just been focused and...

"Doing the job."

"Yes! Exactly. You get it, why doesn't Castle?"

"Why do you still call him Castle? You've been working together for three years now, right?"

"It's a cop thing, I don't know. I don't think about it."

"Perhaps you find it too intimate to use his first name?"

"No! I mean...I have used his first name!" Usually in times of emotional stress but still, she has used it. "He calls me Beckett, I call him Castle."

_**Kate! Don't leave me Kate. I love you.**_

Kate shivered as the words haunted her. "Look, It's better on the job, it's just easier."

"And when you're not on the job?"

"We're always on the job." Immediately she remembered their time in LA, sharing a suite.

She had been tempted that night to change the course of their relationship. If he had pushed just a little more she would have, but when she went back to the shared living room he had already retired to his room. She could hardly go after him, so she'd spent a restless night tossing and turning and finally convinced herself that it was just the stress and the close quarters that made her even consider such insanity.

"So you and Castle don't spend any time together off the job?"

"Well...sure, I mean on occasion. He gives a Halloween party every year and I go...I mean we all go, Lanie and Ryan and Esposito and..." She swallowed hard as she thought of Montgomery. "Anyway he invites everyone from the precinct."

"So other than the Halloween party, you don't see each other outside of work?"

She'd had dinner at his house last night, did that count? Occasionally they went for a drink after work or got a bight to eat, but that is what partners did after a hard day's work."

"Kate?"

"Look, the point is that Castle and I are friends and while he may want more I'm not ready to give it to him."

"Why not?"

"I just...I don't know!"

"Of course you do, you're the only one who can know."

Kate slumped down in the chair again and considered that point. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach turning into condors. "Can we talk about something else?"

"It's your dime."

She glared at him then lowered her eyes again. Truth be told she didn't want to talk about anything else.

"How are you on the job? Anymore issues with flashbacks or holding your gun?"

"No, not since the last time." When Castle talked her through it. She'd been frozen in fear when that perp had pulled a gun on her, one step from losing it, and then Castle's voice soothing her, showing his faith in her. He hadn't teased her or mentioned it to the others and for that she was grateful. If he had been a cop, he would have been duty bound to inform her commander of the incident.

"I've had a couple of nightmares, but they are getting better."

"Do you want to talk about them?"

"It's always the same thing, I'm watching..." She started to choke up and took a moment to find her voice. "Captain Montgomery...Castle is pulling me away and I'm screaming, begging him to leave me, and then we're at the funeral and I'm looking at Castle and suddenly I feel the pain of the bullet." She shook her head. "I wake up screaming."

"Do you resent Castle from taking you away from your Captain's death?"

Beckett chewed on her thumbnail and considered it. Did she? When she woke up in the hospital she had been angry, furious at Castle for doing just that. For not letting her stand with Montgomery, but over her two months of recuperation she realized he'd done it for her, and for Montgomery.

Her Captain's last thoughts were of her, his last deed was to keep her safe. How could she deny him that right? Regardless of the fact that he had been involved, regardless of the fact that he had neglected to say anything to her in all the time she had been investigating her mother's murder. He was still a good man, and her mentor. She couldn't hate him.

Guilt still plagued her. Guilt that she had caused Montgomery's death and the death of so many others because she couldn't let go of finding her mother's true killer. Castle had made her see sense, finally. She wasn't giving up, she was just putting it aside until she had more information, more leads. She knew that Castle would be right there with her, when she did decide to take up the torch again, and it made her smile.

"Where is that coming from?"

She shrugged. "Nowhere, just thinking."

"Well, this is the place to do that, also talking."

His nudge made her smile even more, but instead of giving in she rose and reached for her jacket. "I have to get to work."

"Okay, I'm here if you need me, Kate."

"I know. Thanks." She walked out of the office, nodded at the receptionist and headed towards the lobby. She had a stack of cold cases to go through, and baring another murder, she really had to get them off her desk before her new Captain started screaming again about procedures.

She was already running late, so she skipped breakfast and told herself she'd get something from the vending machine at work. Maybe Castle would be there waiting with a coffee or an espresso. She never could figure out how to use that stupid machine. That thought made her smile for the second time that day.

As she entered her squad room, the sights, sounds and smells pushed back all other worries and put her back in her groove. She pulled of her jacket and swung it over the back of her chair, glaring at the stack of cold cases files, then picked up her messages and started browsing through them.

She swallowed her disappointment of no Castle and even worse, no waiting coffee but shrugged it off and absently hoped she got something soon she could call him in on. She immediately stopped and berated herself for wishing for a Homicide just so she could call Castle. Where the hell was her head today?

God! She needed caffeine! She had just made the decision to try and use the dreaded espresso machine when Ryan walked up with two small cups in his hand.

"You look like you could use this?"

"You have no idea!" She took the cup gratefully, downed half of it and then sighed in rapture as the liquid penetrated her system. "Ahhhh…much better." She took another sip and then dropped into her chair. "Anything going on?"

"Nope. Dead morning so far." Ryan slowly sipped his espresso.

"Where's your partner?"

"Running late. Something about his car." Ryan's eyebrows quirked. "Where's your partner?"

She grinned. "Probably still asleep, unlike the rest of us working stiffs."

"Not at all."

Both detectives glanced towards the entrance of the bullpen and saw the very subject of the conversation headed towards them, a huge gift basket in his arms.

"I was roused from my slumber very early this morning to go run errands for my mother." Castle set the enormous basket on Beckett's desk. "For you, compliments of the Family Castle."

Beckett had to stand to see over the top of the basket. "Castle…What's all this?" She peered through the cellophane and recognized some very high end body products, along with expensive Swiss chocolates and assortment of other delicacies.

"For rescuing us from certain death yesterday."

"I was just doing my job…You didn't have to do this…"

He held up his hand. "One does not argue with my mother." He offered her a tall coffee cup that he had in his other hand. "I just do as I'm told." He shrugged. "Besides that, you didn't have to talk to Trapper John, either. You could have let the hostage negotiators deal with it."

She winced slightly. "How did you find out about that?"

"I have my sources."

Beckett immediately looked at Ryan who flushed guiltily.

She took a sip of her coffee and almost sighed in pleasure, Castle knew exactly how she liked it. She paused at the thought as her mind immediately pictured a particularly steamy scene in Heat Rises and actually felt her cheeks go hot. "Um…well…" Back to business, stat! "The bank robber wouldn't talk to anyone else."

"Still, you went above and beyond."

"You really did," Ryan agreed and with a grin toasted her with his espresso cup. "But if you're at all uncomfortable with the gift, I'd be happy to take it off your hands."

Beckett dropped back in her chair, and smirked. "In a hurry to get your hands on wrinkle cream and moisturizer, Ryan?"

"Hey, there are chocolates in there, I saw them."

"So, what's on the agenda for the day?" Castle asked. "Murder, mayhem and mischief?"

Beckett indicated the stack of files on her desk. "Try Paperwork, procrastination and pain in the…"

"Detectives!"

All three started to attention at their new captain's bark.

"Don't you people have something to do?"

"I…" Beckett hated that she had to bite her tongue around this she-bitch. God, she missed Montgomery. "It's a slow morning, Sir."

Captain Victoria Gates marched over to the trio in her slick grey suit and three inch heals. "There are always cases to solve, Detective." She spotted the gift basket and her eyes narrowed. "What's this?"

"Um…"

"It's from my family and I, Captain," Castle offered when Beckett stalled. "For Detective's Beckett's help yesterday at the bank."

"Are you in the habit of offering gifts to civil servants, Mr. Castle?"

"Oh, sure, why just the other day I…" He spotted Beckett frantically slicing her finger across her throat. "Oh…well, what I mean is…It's always good to show appreciation to New York's finest."

Gates glared at the basket again. "Next time, buy tickets to the policeman's ball. We do the job because it's who we are, and not for expensive bribes from playboy writers playing at police work."

Castle started to contradict her, he was hardly going to allow her to sully him, but the look Beckett gave him forced him to keep quiet.

Gates turned and almost ran into Ryan, who had deliberately kept quiet through the whole scene, hoping not to be noticed. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yes, Sir, ma'am…Captain." Ryan set his cup down and hurried away as fast as his feet could carry him.

"Well?" Gates turned back to Beckett. "Do some work and those precious trinkets!" She turned on her heel and stormed back to her office.

"Wow!" Castle physically deflated in relief. "Who peed in her cornflakes?"

Beckett slumped back in her chair and took a long swig of coffee. "I don't know, but try not to piss her off any further. She already doesn't like you."

Castle settled in his usual chair by her desk, looking wounded. "Everyone likes me." He smiled and it changed his whole face. "I just haven't found what will endear me to her yet."

"Please…stop looking." Beckett put her coffee down and reached for the top file. "However, if you really want her to like you…" She waved the file back and forth.

Castle rose and held out a hand. "I have my limits." He smoothed the front of his expensive blue shirt. "And she did say I had to stop offering gifts to the department."

"Going over files isn't a gift…"

"It would be as it would require a great deal of sacrifice on my part."

"You just want to be involved in the fun stuff, right?"

"Murder, mayhem and mischief." His eyes twinkled at her. "Paperwork shorts out my creativity."

"So will a wack…" She began as if to smack him with the file, just as her phone rang. She grinned at him, dropped the file and reached it. "Beckett?"

Castle watched her, familiar with the way she straightened in her seat, pulled the phone closer to her ear and reached for a pen and pad. He waited until she had set the phone down to speak and clapped his hands together. "Someone has run afoul? Bought a ticket on the last train? Kicked the bucket?"

"How do you know it's a case?" Beckett asked even as she rose and pulled on her jacket.

"I can read you like a book." He laughed at himself. "Ha, ha…see…like a book, and you're the character in my…" He faded off at the look she tossed him and sighed inwardly. "Right, so…where are we going?"

"Into the Lion's Den," she replied with a secret smile as he followed her out.


End file.
